When I was a kid I would seriously zone out with my coloring books for hours. No matter what was going on in school, or who I was having a fight with, I could just get out my crayons and Zen-out. Now that I’m a grown up, I sit with my daughter and draw in her Frozen and My Little Pony coloring books, but I gotta say (and I hope I don’t offend anyone when I do) … I’m getting pretty friggin’ sick of sketching Elsa’s tiny waste and ginormous smile.

In case you couldn’t tell where this is going, I found what I was looking for. For Christmas I got a grown-up coloring book. Full disclosure: It was one of those pass-it-on “white elephant” gifts, but it is awesome. Give yourself five minutes with one of these intricately-patterned pages and you will feel the stress melt away. For real. Except instead of crayons I’d recommend some decent colored pencils — and don’t let your grubby kids get their sticky fingers on ’em!

I’ve searched the internet for the best stress-reducing coloring books for adults, and I’ve found some pretty incredible ones. Trust me on this: Coloring books for adults are the best. Check out this round-up and buy one before your next migraine sets in!

Alex Richards is a Brooklyn-based young adult writer with a background in photography and television production. She loves making no-budget horror flicks with her friends, cooking, crafting, exploring, and being silly with her two kids, awesome husband, and lazy cats. In addition to her young adult novel, Back Talk, Alex writes for New York Family Magazine, and works with ASAP, a South African organization supporting rural communities of women caring for vulnerable children.